Former Democrat Senator Jim Webb is in the Race for the White House!

On Thursday the former Democrat Senator from Virginia, Jim Webb, announced that he would be seeking the Democrat nomination for President. Hillary has another competitor in the race for the nomination, and this one in particular can’t make her very happy.

Thus far, Clinton’s competitors have been wholly unserious. Martin O’Malley is an unpopular Democrat from a state full of Democrats (Maryland), Bernie Sanders is a socialist and an extremist on both economic and social policies, and Lincoln Chafee is Lincoln Chafee and nobody cares about him as a candidate. (Seriously, he probably couldn’t beat Hillary Clinton in Rhode Island and he used to be Governor there!)

Jim Webb is one of the more centrist candidates in the race. In fact, I bet some Republicans would prefer him to the GOP candidates. Some conservatives would like him better than Christie, Trump or Bush. Some moderate-liberal GOP voters would prefer him over Cruz, Paul, Rubio and Carson. Webb is as a Democrat almost the polar opposite of Barack Obama – Webb is humble, Webb is conciliatory, and Webb is very open about his love of country.

Jim Webb is a very dangerous candidate, and all things being equal, he would normally be the biggest challenge for Hillary Clinton to overcome.

However, Webb has jumped into the race a bit late, and there’s no word yet on whether or not he’s lined up financial support for his efforts. He is to the right of every other Democrat (though I’d note that both Webb and Chafee used to be Republicans), and he will force Clinton to move right in the debates, just you watch. Webb also chose an odd way to announce his candidacy – he did it by email.

Dear friends:

After many months of thought, deliberation and discussion, I have decided to seek the office of the Presidency of the United States.

I understand the odds, particularly in today’s political climate where fair debate is so often drowned out by huge sums of money. I know that more than one candidate in this process intends to raise at least a billion dollars – some estimates run as high as two billion dollars – in direct and indirect financial support. Highly paid political consultants are working to shape the “messaging” of every major candidate.

But our country needs a fresh approach to solving the problems that confront us and too often unnecessarily divide us. We need to shake the hold of these shadow elites on our political process. Our elected officials need to get back to the basics of good governance and to remember that their principal obligations are to protect our national interests abroad and to ensure a level playing field here at home, especially for those who otherwise have no voice in the corridors of power. And at the same time our fellow Americans need proven, experienced leadership that can be trusted to move us forward from a new President’s first days in office.

Make no mistake. Hillary Clinton isn’t the only one who needs to watch out for Jim Webb. In many ways, he would make a formidable opponent for any of the Republican candidates as well, because he could naturally tap into to the GOP’s base of support in a way that no other Democrat could. Conservatives, gird yourselves for a fight; if Jim Webb wins we’ll have a very tough row to hoe indeed.

The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by EagleRising.com

About the author

Onan Coca

Onan is the Editor-in-Chief at Romulus Marketing. He's also the managing editor at Eaglerising.com, Constitution.com and the managing partner at iPatriot.com. You can read more of his writing at Eagle Rising.
Onan is a graduate of Liberty University (2003) and earned his M.Ed. at Western Governors University in 2012. Onan lives in Atlanta with his wife and their three wonderful children.